Show p 1 1 J p 3 THE ELECTIONS ELECTIONS' II THE Il-THE THE I-THE THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE By y F Frederic Frederi reder J. J Haskin I armistice c b between tween the two batI battUng battling bat bat- THE THE I tUng parties partes in British politics followed ed th the death of Edward var VII VU p. cooled folo the l passions of men on both sides and arid led to a a general desire to settle the controversy between n the two houses of or parliament b by compromise Thearty The party arty leaders agreed to confer an and they selected d four Radicals representing the ministry and four Tories representing the thep p opposition and ald gave them plenary powers powers pow pow- ers to treat treat This unofficial commis commission sion sian to decide the fat of th the constitution I of tho thi greatest greatest great great- est eRt nation naton on orl earth had no standing in inlaw law but with lh the 4 spirit of confidence servants in public 8 rants of so characteristic the British people practically all al of this k greal question sva was 5 stopp stopped d. d It I was a truce of God With Wih charming simplicity the British empire delegated ts in future ur urto to eight men and called caled t them m the tho con con- Sometimes someone would say Const Constitutional conference but usually the one word with wih its is capital C Cs was wa qu sufficient ci en t The rhe two twenty two times times- Not ot a Vord word leaked Jaked out of the council chamber The whole nation naton waited breathlessly for the decision but it I also waited p patiently t nty and with wih confidence The British people pEople were divided into two camps and each camp was represented in inthe inthe I the parley parle by four men As a matter mater of fact there was not the slightest chance of an agreement The question queston under con consideration was fundamental fundamental If I one of the four Radicals had wavered the democracy democracy de do- of the nation would have torn him limb from limb If I one of the the Tories I had capitulated in the slightest material materi matter maUer the aristocracy of Britain lav hav drunk his blood Finally Finaly the end came Tc prime minIster minister min min- ister later announced through the press m in 1 four lines of type the fact fac that the conference had come to no a agreement The truce truc was ended and matters were back bak where wherE they stood when maters death claimed Edward VII VI and elevated George V. V to the throne The Liberal government was unwilling to lu proceed to ta its is business legislation unless It i was assured that it had a chan chance e of f passing Its measures into law With t the house of lords controlled by au an overwhelming over- over whelming majority of Tories th there r was no such uch chance chanc under the existing tron tion The commons had won before Lefore the people in their contention that they might control the money bills biS But the government govern ment was not content to go on unless its powers flowers were were enlarged so that it 1 consider oth other r matters of leb legislation lal n with wih some rome reasonable hope of fucco s. s The hl parliament parlament reassembled and the veto bill was brought out The Th prime minister with that direct directness ct ct- ness impossible in an slate statesman ir mah who is slave to th calendar said sad the conference had failed and that thai there wano wa was no no use ISO lse of keepings up the farce an anon any longer oner on er Either the peoples people's chosen representatives s had the right and power t to legislate or they did not have hac that right and power Dower The bill bi giving iving th them m thaL that power subject to the dilatory but nOL noc c conclusive veto eto of ot the upper chamber was sent to the lords lord The lords ignored the bill bi and countered by proposing a scheme for the reform Of the upper chamber chamber chamber cham cham- ber voluntarily abandoning the hereditary principle in part and making sweep sweeping It concessions with respect to the form of their house But their were wem werl not such as to convince the Liberals that they would result resul In the the- the control control of of th house by any other t thin than n the aristocratic and nd plutocratic elements now dominant there The Radicals desired to end no not mend the second chamber in U it its present f character V ft ft T So S the lords passed their r reform r reso so lutious and the commons passed their veto eto each house i ignored pole the the action acton of ot the other and th the king by advice o ohis of his ministers dissolved the parliament parlament and md the campaign for a a general election was on In the conference the Liberals were represented by three commons ana a p peer el the Conservatives by two peers and two commoners The Radical m members were Mr Asquith Mr Lloyc-Geore Lloyc Lloyd George Lord Crewe and Mr Birrell Birrel The Tory conferees con con- f rees were Mr 11 Balfour Lord Lord Cawdor and Mr Austen Austeri Chamber- Chamber ain But whether nobles or commoners the eight men divided as Englishmen will wI with reference to the substance and andriot not riot the form of things Lord Crewe judged ed by his record as the leader of the government in the house of lords lord is well won nigh as radical a Democrat as is 11 Mr Lloyd-George Lloyd himself himsel Mr 11 Balfour Balour although although al al- al though a commoner is of the Cecil Ceci blood arid and Ind an aristocrat who sincerely and honestly lion hon estly believes that the triumph of tha thi democratic forces would mean the end or of oral orall all al that is great and glorious an and good in InEn En England lan If the conference had had under consideration con con- sIde I raton a political a quarrel financial question queston a social problem or anything other than a fundamental fundamental con constitutional issue there is little doubt but that H compromise would have been beon but reached The Englishman swears by compromise It represents the fair play doctrine of I give and take and it Is by a series of of c compromises that John Bull Bul has cemented cement cement- ed ed the stones of his unmatched na na- na i tonal edifice The British constitution I is nothing more than a series of compromises compromises compromises compro compro- more often ofen expressed in gentlemen's gentlemen's gentle gentle- gente mens men's agreements than in official proc proc- The Icing tyng ing is bound to act by bythe bythe bythe the advice advie Of his ministers as a a result resul of a long series of compromises in which the crown gradually gave up up- one after another another of its is prerogatives in exchange for Cor the boon of Its is perpetuation The most difficult purely political problem problem lem hem in British affairs is the Irish ques ques- tion Ireland has been ruled against Its KB ton will wi by th the English l for a matter of f years A little more than a century century ago ago its is separate parliament parlament was extinguished by the treachery treachEry of its Is own representatives tives corrupted b by English promises promise's and bribes Ever Eer since the Hie passage of the act of union the Irish have ha been struggling gling by ever every means at hand to get back their freedom freedon freedom at least as far as their internal affairs affairs were concerned In Inthe Inthe Inthe the past half half- century the nature of their demands has been expressed by their slogan Homo Home HomE rule for Ireland Mr 11 Gladstone the great Liberal leader gradually progressing g toward complete democracy suddenly decided to give the Irish wh what t they wanted Under his leadership leadership leadership lead lead- the commons passed a bill bi giving I Ireland its is long long pt prayed ed for fr home rule I The bill bi was rejected In the lords and an appeal was had to th the the country Wh What t remained of ot the old Whig Wig arist aristocracy racy in inthe 1 th the Liberal party deserted the Gladstone banner and calling themselves Liberal Liberal- UnionIsts joined with the Tories The Liberals were ere defeated and for years were unable to regain power except pt at atthe atthe the price of suppressing sing home rule rula The issue was so great reat in n interest a and d im inv inv- that the name namo Unionist after a time superseded the name Conservative Conserva tive as the tho official title tte of ot the major fraction of the Tory party parly The Liberals Liberals Liberals Liber Liber- als mindful of their disaster under Gladstone and being after all al nothing more nor less than Englishmen were chary of at opening the Irish question queston In the parliament parlament elected electEd last January the Irish party held the balance halane of power and John Redmond the Irish leader became became became be be- came the dictator of England It I was very ery fine for England to rule Ireland but many any Englishmen soon found that It was possible under the terms of the union for Ireland to rule rulo England England-a a very different different dif dit- ferent matter So there arose in the Unionist party a strong sentiment In Jn fa favor favor favor fa- fa vor of going back on their record of seven Sven centuries and on their very name that they might win wn Irish favor by consenting consenting con con- to a federal home rule plan which would place Ireland In the same relation to the kingdom that Ohio bears to tho the American union or that Ontario bears to the Dominion of Canada Acute as is ia the Irish question queston the apparent apparent apparent ap ap- ap- ap parent willingness s of the Unionists to consider consider- a compromise indicated that if the conference of eight had been called upon to decide the vex vexed d question queston of home rule an agreement would have been beel reached But the time had come when i home rule was only one of ot the the- the t many n things that the democratic element de demanded demanded demanded de- de as its right The controversy bet between een the lords and the commons could not be quIt quitted d by a Meal deal with an Irish politician 1 tI clan Neither the Irish nor the Liberals were I willing to accept this sop The Liberals I wanted to have the right to control the government when in poorer poel on an equal i basis with Conservatives when hen in power I and ad to do this thiR they must remove the veto power power of the tho lords The Irish were ere convinced con that they never would get more than half a loaf until the thE lords were hurled from power The coalition coalton stood In spite of all al the efforts made to break It it and In spite of the olive olve branches h held ld out by the now thoroughly frightened Tories No one ODe knows what was said In the conference but it is generally believed that other political questions were discussed discussed discussed dis dis- cussed and that there was room for compromise compromise com corn promise on all al of them as well wel as on the much mooted Irish question queston But the Conservatives would not yield in their adherence to the principle that the upper chamber ought to represent certain Interests Interests in In- In removed from the people and that these Interests might of right negative nega nega- tive the peoples people's will wl as expressed ed by their chosen represent representatives On the other hand the Liberals would not yield one ei j jot Or tittle tte from theIr ther declared principle principle prin- prin prin prin- ciple tat that the commons ought to have ha-e the right to enact into law any measure thrice agreed upon within the lifetime of a single parliament parlament When the conference broke up there was as nothing to tell tel Both sides came out as they went in Each was determined deter deter- mined d to place Its propositions before the people The electors were given Driven the same arguments that were made in n conference confer confer- ence enee In essence and now in they are speaking their will wi The Liberals said the Campaign was that tha t of the P people against the peers The Conservatives said the campaign n was as that of the constitution against the f e demagogues In Everybody had an opportunity to judge for himself and to v vote te as he saw at that fit that ft-that hat Is IB Is Providing he lie had a a vote Some r me free t EnS Englishmen have no noi vote at a all n al and others h have ve many votes i but that but that Is I a a. mere detail Tomorrow Tomorrow The The English Elections r- r The The The- Tory Reform S Schemes h n s. s |